Sash cord holder



Jan. 22, 1952 EL'LY v2,583,395

Jan. 22, 1952 J. B. sKELLY SASH CORD HOLDER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 2:5, 1946 FIG...

JOHN B. .sKEL-LY INI/ENTOR.

BY d 7 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. `22, 1952 John B. Skelly, Seattle, Washf; `Mary Young Skelly, executrixr of said John B. Skelly, deceased, assignor to Mary Young Skelly, Seattle,

Wash.

4Animation November 2s, 1946, serial No. 711,976

1 claim, (o1. 1er-202) The present invention relates to the general art of window and sash construction and, more particularly to a sash cord holder. In my present construction I provide means for handling the conventional style of double hung window so that it may be used as normally, and at the same time be capable of being raised and lowered by means of counter-balancing weights `or springs, and when it is desired the window may be disconnected from one of the supportingl tail very substantial first costs, and would re"v quire very expensive fittings in their installation, in most cases requiring that special window frames and sash be provided. f

Other devices of this general character have provision for disconnecting the supporting cable or rope which is manually disconnected, and must vbe secured as by looping a ring or' knot under a hook provided for the purpose. This requires'a great deal of skill on the part of the user and where heavy sash weights or heavy counter-half ancng springs are used, there is a considerable element of risk and danger in this use.

vIt is believed that with my present structure I have overcome the deficiencies of these devices that have been used in the past and, therefore, one of the principal objects of my present inven# tion is to provide means for reversing a windowv in which the disconnecting and reconnecting of the window supportingmeans is simple' and vfoolproof in its operation, so that the averagehouseA` wife, without lthe exercise of any mechanical skill or the application of great strength, can satis-- factorily operate my mechanism.

A further object of my present invention is -to provide a reversible window structure that makes use of the conventional double-hung windows, and thus makes it possible to apply my device as an attachment to existing windows already in place. Y y ,v

A further object of my present inventionvis to provide means whereby, as a window is swung inwardly, the window supporting means onone side is automatically disconnected and the supporting rope or chain is automatically engaged so as tohold it in its extended position.

A further object of my invention is to provide means whereby, after a window has been cleaned and it is desired to swing it back into its normal position of use, engagement is effected between the lwindow and the supporting means without attention from the operatorrother than to swing the window back into place.

Other objects will no doubt be apparent from a study of the speciiication and its accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an elevational view showing a window of a ldouble-hung type, modified to accept my mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the same windowas shown in Fig. 1 but showing, in a perspective arrangement, thesash as pivoted valong one o f its vertical margins, and in the act of being swung inwardly into the room so that it may be easily and safely cleaned;

Fig. 3 is a crossfsectional view along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1; l

4 is a verticalvsectional view along the plane 4--4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a face view of a slightly modified hinge as I prefer to use it in my device;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing in exploded relationship the essential metal members that I'use in effecting my reversible window structure; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the metal'parts in the position they assume when the window is being'swung out of its normal position cris just being swung back to the same.

In the drawings, throughout which like refer? ence characters indicate like parts, the numeral 8 designates the type of sash to which my invention maybe most feasibly applied.l '.Ihis is the lower of" a pair of double-hung windows, hav-- ing right and left stles l0 and |2, respectively,l

and upper andu lower rails |74 and l5., respectively. This windowvis provided with the usual sill and window framing and has the usual frame stile i6 and the window stop I8. Windows of this type are normally counter-balanced `for easy handling, as by weights 20, and the connecting cord or chain 2|, although in certaininstances spring `units are used instead of weights 20. In each case, however,"a tension member, as 2l,- is normally employed'to transfer the upward counterbalancing effect on the windowin a manner so that it will be applied at the'various `positions;`

at which the'window maybe placed vertically. In order to make a device which will permit the disengagement of the window counter-balancing means and to insure its accurate re-enchain 2i.

gagement without special attention on the part of the user, I prefer to employ several parts which are secured, one to the window sash, one to the stile of the window frame and the third disposed for movement normally with the window sash, but which maybe held in its lowermost position `when it is desired to free ythe window from the counter-balancing means. A detailed description of these parts is as follows:

In order to employ my present invention. a sash latch member 22 is employed, the same being normally secured, as Aby screws, lin the upper corner of the sash on the edgeitis desired to free. I have found it desirabletoiform asifpart of plate 22, ears or lugs 23 and 24, and for most installations it is desirable -that the outer surface of lug 24, as 25, be cam-shaped for a purpose which will be more apparent later on.

Adapted to co-act with plate 22, is the cordend plate 21, which is Yprovided with inturned lugs f 29 vand 30, so spaced as to operatively engage lugs 24 and 23, respectively. At its upperend, plate 21 has an inwardly directed bent portion 32, adapted to form an engagement for cord :or IIn the case of a-cord, it is normal to knot the same below lug 32. In the case kof a cham-other vsecuring means would probably be employed. Intermediate its ends, a locking-bar groove 34 is provided and, bifurcating the lower portion of plate 21, is a cut-out -portion 38,1which is arranged to provide space for the cam member that operates thelocking bar. It is to be noted that plate 21 has extended sides 38 and 39, which are adapted to ride `in undercut grooves in the window-spacing member 'and in the window stop .member I8. This construction is probably best shown in Fig. v3.

Adapted to co-act with plates 22 and 21 is Ya third or lock-bar plate 44. This plate is adapted for fixedly mounting, as by screws, to vthe stile of the window frame, as I6. Plate 44 has backwardly bent lugs 45 at the upper and lower ends thereof, to form journals for the 'shaft 46 'of the locking bar assembly. `At its upperI end shaft 46 is bent at `right angles to form the locking bar 48 and, at its lower end, is either deformed or has secured to it, cam member 58. This cam member has two outstanding cam portions, as 52 and 53. The overall extent of lugs 45 and the inside -dimensions between locking bar 48 and cam 58 should be substantially the same, so that cam member and locking bar 48 will be accurately positioned so that they may effectively and with certainty co-act with `plates 22 and 21.

.In order that the entire sash may be pivoted freely and yet be held in a definite position :at all times, I secure to stile I8 of the window and to window stop 54, preferably, a modified type of hinge made after the showing of Fig. 5. This hinge is provided with one member 56 `made after the style of conventional hinges and having Aa plurality of screw holes 51. A conventional hinge and pin arrangement is employed at 58 and the other half of the hinge, as 60, need not have any screw holes, but at its upper end should have a longitudinally extending slot 82, which is preferably flared or tapered at 64, so that it vwill center andaccurately position ascrew.

Co-acting with hinge 6,5, I provide,,preferably, round-head screws 66, which are 4drivenpartially home within -stile YI0 of the window sash, Vleaving them to extend outwardly a suiiicient distance so that they can engage slot 62 in hinge 85, and thus provide means for firmly fsupporting vsash 8, when `it is disconnected `fr om its counter- 4 balancing means on the free side and is swung outwardly for purposes of cleaning and the like.

Method of operation In using my reversible Window, the rst operation is lto swing out on ,its hinges the window 'stop member I8. This member is 'mounted on hinges and extends upward suciently to take care of the upper portion of the Window as it is unlatched and swung outward. The second step in the operation which can be performed either before or after opening stop I0, is to raise the sash and then unfold portion 60 of the supporting hinges of the type shown in Fig. 5, so that member 60 lies fiat against the window stile. The window is vthen lowered until the outwardly extending screws 66 are engaged in slot 62. When this yis achieved, the hinges are in a position to accept the full weight of the window. Actually, of course, with normal construction the hinges need only takehalf the weight of the window, 'as only one window weight is disconnected.

'The next step in the operation is to grasp sash 8 and swing it outwardly, after the showing of Fig. 2. As the sash just begins to vleave its'normal position, we have the operation which is probablybest illustrated in Fig. '1, wherein llug 24 of latch plate 22 engages one of the cam mem-- bers as 53, and moves it about its axis and thus moves lock bar 43 into slot 34. Now, inasmuch as lock bar plate 44 carrying the lock bar 48 is xedly secured to the stile of the window frame, the net result is to fix cor-d 2| in position 'against movement under urgence of Weight 20. The window can then be swung out to the. position as shown in Fig. 2 or may be swung approximately degrees about the axis of hinges 65.

After the window has been processed, and it is desired to restore the same to its normal posi- 'tion of use, sash 8 is merely revolved back into its normal position. In so doing, cam surface 25 will labut the now outstanding cam member 52 of the lock bar assembly, and the final operation which is concluded just after lug 24 vhas come to a position above lug 29, is to so revolve lock bar 48 that the weight tension is again transferred to -sash 8.

It is desired to point out, however, that in the operation of opening the window or closing it, aside from placing sash 8 upon hinges 55, the balance of the operation is one that requires no skill, no timing of 'sequence of events, and does not require the man-handling of the sashr weight or the weight of the window sash itself.

The final operation now is to raise sash "8 slightly 'so 'as to disengage members 68 of the hinges, 'fold them back against the window lstop thatportion 56 is secured to, and the window is again capable of normal movement. 'Io completely restore normal conditions, stop I-B is then swung back into position where it may be suitably secured.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and disclosure 'in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction vof a sash' cord holder.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In la sash cord fastener adapted for use in a window frame having a vertical guideway, 'a window sash slidably mounted therein, a sash counterbalaneing means, and a flexible connec tor joining the counterbalancing means and the window sash, said sash cord fastener comprising: a sash latch to be secured to a frame abutting edge of said sash, said latch yhaving horizontally disposed lugs directed outwardly Irom said frame abutting edge and having a cam surface on one of said lugs; a connector plate juxtaposed to said sash latch having horizontally disposed lugs directed toward said sash latch and disposed with the lugs of said sash latch superposed thereto whereby said latch and said connector plate are interengaged, said connector plate having a horizontally disposed locking bar groove and an upper lug for atachment to said exible connector; and a lock bai` plate to be secured in said guideway having upper and lower lugs, a vertical locking bar shaft journaled in said lock bar plate lugs and having at its upper end a horizontal locking bar and at its lower end a cam member adapted to coact with the cam surface of said sash latch, forpivoting said locking bar into said locking bar groove for fastening said connector plate when said sash is swung out of said guideway and for pivoting said locking bar out of said locking bar groove when said sash is swung back into said guideway.

JOHN B. SKELLY,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 709,666 Davey Sept. 23, 1902 1,011,734 Brown et al Dec. 12, 1911 1,932,906 Muir et al. Oct. 31, 1933 2,392,997 Prentice Jan. 15, 1946 

